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World Cup Notes: Hart, Giannis, Giddey, Dellavedova

August 10th, 2023 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Several members of Team USA have new contracts to celebrate this summer as they prepare for the FIBA World Cup, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Josh Hart became the latest player with a new deal, signing a four-year, $81MM extension with the Knicks electronically Thursday morning while the Americans prepared for a pair of exhibition games in Spain.

“It was actually pretty cool, I was just laying down on the training table, getting some treatment, on FaceTime with (his wife Shannon) and signing the contract,” Hart said. “It meant a lot. I wasn’t highly touted coming out of high school, wasn’t highly regarded in the draft, went through free agency the first time and I was restricted, it was a terrible experience for me, so to be able to do this, it’s a dream come true – just being able to have something that can take care of my parents, my family, my kids.”

Other U.S. players also had productive offseasons. Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards both signed five-year, maximum-salary extensions. Cameron Johnson got $100MM over five seasons to stay with the Nets, and Austin Reaves re-signed with the Lakers for approximately $54MM over four years.

“Yeah, that’s my kids’ kids’ money, for sure,” Edwards said. “It don’t matter (which player’s contract we’re talking about), that’s a lot of money.”

There’s more on the World Cup:

Giannis Antetokounmpo traveled to the United States for more testing on his knee before deciding whether to play for Greece, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. The Bucks‘ medical staff will reportedly work with doctors from the Greek team to determine the best course of action for Antetokounmpo.
Wenyen Gabriel is the most recognizable player for South Sudan, which is preparing for its first-ever World Cup appearance, Askounis adds in a separate story. Other team members with NBA ties include Marial Shayok, Mangok Mathiang and Carlik Jones.
Thunder guard Josh Giddey is ready to become the new on-court leader for Australia, per Olgun Uluc of ESPN. Coach Brian Goorjian plans entrust his offense to the 20-year-old, who is seen as the future of the Australian basketball. “Giddey sets the standard of, eventually you’re gonna be the guy for this program, and he’s an unselfish player, so that sets the standard straight out of the gates,” teammate Jock Landale said. “He’s already embodied the Boomers mentality, and our culture, just through how he plays. It’s gonna come naturally to him, and he’ll fit in really nicely.”
Veteran guard Matthew Dellavedova isn’t part of Australia’s 13-man roster for exhibition games prior to the start of the tournament, according to Eurohoops.

Beno Udrih To Coach Bucks’ G League Team

August 9th, 2023 at 6:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former NBA player Beno Udrih will become head coach of the Wisconsin Herd, the Bucks‘ affiliate in the G League, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Udrih spent last season as a scout with the Hawks. He has also served as a player development coach for the Pelicans and an assistant coach with the G League’s Westchester Knicks.

Udrih, 41, played 13 NBA seasons before officially announcing his retirement in 2021. He suited up for eight teams during his career and won two titles with the Spurs in his first three seasons in the league.

Udrih will be the fourth head coach in the history of the Herd, who debuted in the 2017/18 season. He replaces Chaisson Allen, who guided the team for the past two seasons.

Serge Ibaka Hopes To Keep Playing In NBA

August 3rd, 2023 at 7:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Veteran big man Serge Ibaka, who has been in the NBA for 14 seasons, is still looking for his next opportunity as free agency’s second month gets underway.

In a new interview with Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter video link), Ibaka explained how he can still help clubs in the league ahead of the 2023/24 season.

“A lot of things that I can bring to a team… basketball, experience of winning, playing with great players,” Ibaka said.

Speaking to Charania, the 33-year-old explained, from his perspective, how his season as a deep-bench reserve with the Bucks went awry. He was flipped to the Pacers in February as part of the four-team deal that sent Kevin Durant to the Suns, and Indiana subsequently waived him. Ibaka claimed that Milwaukee told him ahead of the year that he would be used as an injury replacement.

“[Then-head coach Mike Budenholzer] told me to my face: Listen, you’re coming here, I promise you nothing — but you never know, it’s a long season, guys can have injuries, you have to stay ready,” Ibaka said (h/t to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm and other staffers).

That proved not to be the case, and the club was cagey about why it continued to mostly hold him out even when big men ahead of him in the team’s rotation were hurt.

“It got to some point where I cannot take this anymore,” Ibaka said. “I love this game so much, but if this is going to take my peace of mind, my joy, it’s not worth it. I earned my respect in this league. At least communicate. I’m not asking about playing, I’m just asking for communication.”

Across just 16 games with the Bucks, the 6’10” center/power forward averaged 4.1 PPG and 2.8 RPG last season. Though the 2019 NBA champion may no longer be his peak All-Defensive Team self, he at least seems optimistic that he has more left to give.

Contract Details: Cissoko, Temple, T. Antetokounmpo, More

August 3rd, 2023 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

The three-year contract that No. 44 overall pick Sidy Cissoko signed with the Spurs is guaranteed for the first two seasons, but not for the third, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. It’s worth the minimum in all three years, Hoops Rumors has learned.

Because the Spurs still had a little cap room available, they signed Cissoko using that room instead of the second-round pick exception, Smith notes, so the third year is simply non-guaranteed instead of being a team option.

That will give San Antonio more time to make its third-year decision on Cissoko — instead of having to exercise or decline an option by June 29, 2025, the team will pay him a $500K partial guarantee if he remains under contract through July 6 of that year, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tells Hoops Rumors. Cissoko would receive his full guarantee if he hasn’t been waived by the start of the 2025/26 regular season, Hoops Rumors has learned.

Here are a few more details on recently signed contracts:

Garrett Temple‘s one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Raptors is guaranteed, per Doug Smith of The Toronto Star (Twitter link). That means Toronto has 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts, with Jeff Dowtin and his non-guaranteed deal potentially on the outside looking in unless one of those 15 players is traded or waived.
The one-year, minimum-salary contracts signed by Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) and Sandro Mamukelashvili (Spurs) are also guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. Milwaukee now has 15 players on guaranteed standard contracts, while San Antonio has 18 and will need to make some roster moves before opening night.
Duane Washington‘s training camp contract with the Knicks includes Exhibit 9 language but doesn’t feature an Exhibit 10 clause, Hoops Rumors has learned. That means Washington can’t have his contract converted into a two-way deal and wouldn’t receive a bonus worth up to $75K if he’s waived by New York and ends up playing for the Westchester Knicks.

Starting Shooting Guard, Backup Point Guard Question Marks Entering 2023/24

August 2nd, 2023 at 9:36pm CST by Rory Maher

The Bucks have a new head coach in Adrian Griffin and he will face some tough rotation decisions entering 2023/24, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Starting shooting guard and backup point guard are the two spots that appear the most tenuous at the moment. In fact, Milwaukee doesn’t have a traditional backup point guard on its 15-man roster, which makes Nehm wonder if the team will eventually take the “simplest” route by addressing the position with a trade or free agent addition.

And-Ones: Knox, Hoard, Antetokounmpo, Rivers

July 31st, 2023 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Overtime Elite has signed five-star recruit Karter Knox, the team tweets. Karter Knox is the younger brother of NBA forward Kevin Knox. He’s entering his senior year of high school after leading Tampa Catholic to state semifinal appearances the last two seasons.

“Karter didn’t really want to leave,” his father Kevin Sr. told PrimeTimePreps.com. “He wanted to try to become the school’s all-time leading scorer and win a state title. If the state offered those (NIL) opportunities, it would have been a much tougher decision. This also gives Karter the ability to have constant training on a daily basis in an IMG type of setup. It is an extremely lucrative opportunity, not just in the money available, but in the value of getting Karter prepared for the next level. It’s just another layer to add to the foundation.”

We have more from around the basketball world:

Jaylen Hoard has signed a two-year extension with Hapoel Tel Aviv, Sportando relays. Hoard averaged 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game between the Winner League and Eurocup last season. After going undrafted out of Wake Forest in 2019, the 6’8″, French-born swingman joined the Trail Blazers on a two-way deal for the 2019/20 season. He then spent the subsequent two NBA seasons bouncing between the Thunder and their NBAGL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue.
It’s still up in the air whether Giannis Antetokounmpo will play in the FIBA World Cup for the Greek National Team, according to Eurohoops.net. Coach Dimitris Itoudis said Antetokounmpo’s cleanup procedure on his knee in June has led to the uncertainty regarding his availability. “That should be addressed to our doctor and the doctors of the Bucks. The information is that he is making an effort, and he will be reevaluated shortly, and we will have a final decision on whether he will make it or not,” Itoudis said.
Austin Rivers said on his recent podcast that he’s not a fan of players like Damian Lillard and James Harden demanding to be traded to a certain team (hat tip to NBC Sports’ Kurt Helin). “If you’re a free agent you can choose where you were gonna go, that’s the business. But when you’re not and you sign a deal, that’s part of the business,” Rivers said. “If you get traded somewhere, you got to go play.”

Beauchamp Scores 83 In Pro-Am Event

July 31st, 2023 at 9:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks guard MarJon Beauchamp had a memorable performance at the Crawsover Pro-Am event in his hometown of Seattle over the weekend, JR Radcliffe of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes. Beauchamp scored 83 points in a game at Seattle Pacific University to set an event scoring record. He’s expected to have an expanded role next season with the Bucks after playing 52 regular season games as a rookie.

Bucks Re-Sign Thanasis Antetokounmpo

July 28th, 2023 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

3:58pm: The Bucks have officially re-signed Antetokounmpo, the team announced in a press release.

2:51pm: Free agent forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo has agreed to re-sign with the Bucks, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The older brother of Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis has spent the last four seasons in Milwaukee, averaging 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game (162 games) during that time. Prior to 2019, he primarily played overseas and in the G League, though he did have a brief NBA stint with New York in 2015/16.

According to Charania (Twitter link), Thanasis chose the Bucks over multiple other options, including the Knicks.

Given Thanasis’ limited contributions at the NBA level, it would be a little surprising if multiple teams were vying to offer the 31-year-old a fully guaranteed contract — we’ll have to wait to see what the details of his new deal are. Based on the Bucks’ financial situation, it figures to be worth the veteran’s minimum.

Milwaukee currently has 14 players on guaranteed contracts, so if the team plans to have Thanasis on its regular season roster, he would fill the 15th and final spot, barring additional moves. In that scenario, the Bucks would be carrying two pairs of brothers on their 2023/24 squad, with Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez also under contract.

Contract Details: Noel, Dowtin, White, Jordan, Matthews, More

July 26th, 2023 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The one-year, minimum-salary contract that Nerlens Noel signed with the Kings is currently only partially guaranteed for $300K, Hoops Rumors has learned. Noel would see his partial guarantee increase to $600K if he hasn’t been waived by the first game of the regular season this fall. In order to receive his full salary, he’d need to remain under contract through at least January 7.

Here are more details on a few recently signed NBA contracts:

Jeff Dowtin‘s one-year, minimum-salary contract with the Raptors is fully non-guaranteed for the time being. However, the guard would receive a partial guarantee worth $900K if he’s not waived on or before October 21, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
The Thunder signed Jack White to a two-year, minimum-salary contract that includes a $600K partial guarantee in year one and a team option for 2024/25, Hoops Rumors has learned.
The one-year, minimum-salary deals signed by DeAndre Jordan (Nuggets) and Wesley Matthews (Hawks) are fully guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned.
The two-way contracts signed by Omari Moore (Bucks) and Leaky Black (Hornets) cover two years rather than just one, Hoops Rumors has learned.
Sixers center Montrezl Harrell and Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson waived their right to veto trades during their 2023/24 season, Hoops Rumors has learned. As we detailed earlier today, players who re-sign with their previous teams on one-year deals (or two-year deals with a second-year option) get trade veto rights by default, but can choose to give up those rights.

Central Notes: Middleton, Rubio, Jerome, Morris, Pistons

July 23rd, 2023 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Khris Middleton‘s new contract with the Bucks includes a series of bonuses related to his total games played and the team’s postseason success, as Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel outlines (via Twitter).

According to Owczarski, Middleton will earn $1.5MM if he appears in at least 62 games in 2023/24 and $617K if the Bucks make the playoffs. He’ll also receive $206K if Milwaukee makes the Eastern Conference Finals, another $206K if the club makes the NBA Finals, and an additional $206K for a championship. Of those incentives, only the $617K playoff bonus is currently deemed likely, since Middleton and the Bucks didn’t achieve any of the other benchmarks last season.

Those figures add up to about $2.735MM — Middleton has approximately $2.963MM in total bonuses next season, so it sounds like at least one of his incentives is missing. However, Owczarski’s reporting gives us a pretty good sense of how the veteran forward would be able to max out his earnings in ’23/24.

Here’s more from around the Central:

The Cavaliers are optimistic about Ricky Rubio‘s bounce-back potential in 2023/24, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link). As Fedor explains, Rubio is another year removed from ACL surgery and is expected to play for Spain in the World Cup, which could be a spring-board to a successful season. The Cavs’ addition of Ty Jerome was more about acquiring “playable depth” than an expectation he’ll usurp Rubio on the depth chart, Fedor adds.
Monte Morris, who was born in Grand Rapids and grew up in Flint, spoke on Saturday about what it means to him to get the opportunity to play for his hometown Pistons, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. “I always dreamed about playing for the Pistons, just where I grew up,” Morris said. “I was at the Boys and Girls Club a lot. We would get a lot of Pistons gear and I remember when Chauncey (Billups), Ben (Wallace), Tayshaun (Prince), and Rip (Hamilton) came down, it was like 2003, I believe. I was 8 years old running around the Boys and Girls Club. … I used to watch the games in the nosebleeds at the Palace. That pride of just being a Piston, I know what it feels like.”
In a separate subscriber-only story for The Free Press, Sankofa answers mailbag questions about the Pistons‘ rotation, Ausar Thompson‘s role, and Thompson’s potential ceiling, among other topics. Within a discussion of trade possibilities, Sankofa expresses skepticism that James Wiseman will be moved this offseason, but acknowledges that if the former lottery pick can’t crack the team’s rotation this season, his days in Detroit could be numbered.